Lizzie takes some Leisure

I wouldn’t want you to think that any of our visitors lead idle lives – indeed when compared to ourselves, they are all feverishly busy.  My sister, Liz, however, simply never stops and it was for this reason that I was keen that she should take a few days out, to rest and recharge her batteries.  We will never be sure whether or not it was latent Catholic guilt that induced her to walk the plank to atone for such flagrant inactivity – but more of that later.

 

J and Lizzie enjoying a drink in a cafe in Lakka

Most of our guests this summer have flown into Corfu, this being apparently, the best bet cost-wise and so it was that last Wednesday, (14^th) Rampage was anchored once again under the citadel of Corfu town.  Since Liz was due to arrive in the cool of the evening, we decided to walk to the airport and discovered in the process, that it really wasn’t very far at all.  There had been mild concern a day earlier when Liz commented in an email that her holiday would start on Thursday.  Did we have the day wrong?  Double checked previous emails which all seemed to indicate Wednesday so we texted and emailed on Tuesday, only to get a panicked response from Liz who seemed to think we were on the point of going to the airport at that very moment.  Overwork can lead to confused thinking and confirmed for me her urgent need for a holiday!

Anchoring off Corfu, as mentioned in previous blogs, is a picturesque, not to say romantic start to a stay aboard Rampage.  It does mean however, that you have to run the gauntlet of the Minimal Dinghy from Day One.  In order to convey the three of us, plus Lizzie’s case, across to the boat, D made two trips but unfortunately the little torch we rig on a short pole for dinghy travel in the dark threw itself into the depths on trip one.  However, Liz is nothing if not courageous and gamely clambered into a rather damp and unlit dinghy and off we went.  On arrival out at the boat, we realised that the torch was still alight and glowing at us tantalisingly from the seabed so the Skipper threw caution to the winds, donned his swim shorts and fins and dived the three or four metres to retrieve it.  I would like to report that it is none the worse for it’s salty dip and it does seem to work still but I don’t think the switch mechanism will survive for long.

Next morning, Liz and I went ashore for last minute provisions, and Liz made her first attempt to follow the example of the torch and hurl herself into the briny.  A passing gentleman was having none of it however, and firmly gripped the dinghy and helped her ashore.  It was only when we reached the shops that it occurred to us that 15^th August is a religious feast day and most of them were shut.

 

On the quayside in Lakka

We went initially to Plataria and Thursday passed largely without incident, swimming, drinking cocktails in a little bar as the sun went down and an enforced meal out that evening, since we’d been unable to buy any supper that morning.  I wasn’t terribly hopeful about the quality of meal we’d find in Plataria and since my sister and her partner have a Michelin rated gastro pub in Faversham, she is a fairly discerning critic.  However, as it turned out the Greek salad, lamb cutlets and tzatiki turned out to be very passable.  There is a reason why Greek wine isn’t much exported but you do get used to the local house wine pretty quickly so it was a good evening.

The next day was spent in a similar way but for some reason, Lizzie’s partner John was underwhelmed by news of sunsets and barbecues as he slaved over a hot stove in Faversham!  Even the news that she had taken an unexpected leap off the gangplank left him unmoved.  Thankfully, due to the flooded condition of the pontoon at Plataria, she landed, waist-deep and unharmed, on a flight of underwater steps and was able to climb out without further loss of dignity.  Sadly her mobile did not enjoy the dip and despite all Duncan’s careful ministrations, it refused to work thereafter, although luckily Liz was able to transfer her SIM card to one of our phones and thus able to continue to regale John with stories of her adventures.

In the meantime, Duncan had spent a happy few hours installing a Sterling Alternator to Battery regulator between the engine alternator and the battery bank.  This summer, we have struggled to keep pace with the power demands of the fridge: partly this is due to the hot weather but the other element is that the engine doesn’t kick out as much power as might be expected.  The Sterling is an expensive box of electronic whizbangery which ups the output of the alternator.  We were hopeful that this would solve the power supply problem.

 

Breakfast en route

We got a little bit of rain in Platerias and we all bolted under cover in the cockpit.  Then we had a ‘should have gone to SpecSavers moment’;  Lizzie stared puzzled out across the bay and then commented on the dedication of the fisherman, sitting stoically in the rain.  We had to point out to her that her fisherman was in fact a rubbish bin…..  More on Lizzie’s need for new specs later in the blog.

On Saturday (17^th), we left Platerias and headed off for the anchorage at Lakka on the island of Paxos.  We struck lucky with the wind and managed to sail for a fair bit of the way, arriving in Lakka after 4 hours.  The anchorage was, as usual, very crowded but we found a spot and dropped anchor for the night.  The girls went ashore for an explore before a supper cooked, for once, on the stove.  All went well until about 4 am, when a truly nasty swell entered the anchorage, scattering unstowed stuff all over the place and alarming Lizzie considerably.  Nothing was broken except our sleep: it was almost certainly the wash from a passing cruise ship which bounced its way round and round the enclosed anchorage making it feel much worse than if we’d been in a more open location.

After that disturbed night, we decided to move down to Gaios for our next stop.  The one hour run down there put a smile on Duncan’s face, as the new whizzbangery worked to expectation, putting a good charge into the battery bank.  That evening, we went ashore for supper finding a nice if expensive place in the town square.  We chose it because there was a ‘circus boat’ moored there and the show took place from 9.30pm onwards; not that we saw much due to the number of kids and parents crammed on to the quayside.

 

Gaios from the island castle

We moved on to the quayside the following morning, as the number of passing boats, especially high powered tenders belonging to super yachts anchored offshore, made the anchorage uncomfortable.  Unfortunately we couldn’t hook up to the electricity supply, so the batteries got a good test.  It was becoming obvious that the domestic bank wasn’t holding the charge properly.  Despite the new box putting a good charge into them, the charge was dropping much more rapidly than it should have.  The decision was made that we should replace the domestic batteries if we could find a reasonable set of replacements in Corfu.

On Tuesday, we planned to leave for Petriti on Corfu.  After a shopping exped into the town, we returned to the quayside where J cut Duncan’s hair, much to the amusement of sundry passers by, including the water man who remarked several times that he had just paid €10 for a haircut.  Duncan then got a free shower from the water man – piping hot water from the truck, as the hose full of water had been lying on the top of the tank in the full sun.  The trip to Petriti was without incident and we enjoyed a lovely quiet night in the anchorage after the hustle and bustle of Gaios.  J and Lizzie went ashore to find a post box whilst I prepared a curry; they returned late, having been chatted up by an elderly expat in a bar.  Lizzie succeeded in misplacing her sunglasses for a second SpecSavers moment; despite a prolonged hunt we failed to find them and, having heard nothing from Lizzie on her return, we must assume they fell into the oggin.

 

The isolated barbeque operative….

We arrived off Corfu town the following afternoon after a short trip from Petriti.  In the early evening, we went ashore into the town.  I found a pleasant little bar overlooking the anchorage and left Lizzie and J to explore the place.  They rejoined me after an hour or so and we had supper in a small restaurant that we’ve been to several time before; a nice family run place in the back streets.

 

Post shower skipper!

Thursday 22^nd was the day Lizzie was due to fly back to UK, so we took her to the airport and walked back to the boat for a bit before catching the bus to Gouvia to pick up the laundry from Glynis at Spiti Prifiti, where was also had lunch.  Once back on board, we took things easy until the cool of the evening before heading into town to get cash and stroll round the place.  Our next visitor is Andy Mills, who arrives on 23^rd August for a couple of weeks; more on that and replacing batteries in the next blog.

Lizzie in Corfu town

Alarms and Excitements!

Most of the time, cruising the summer months is pretty close to idyllic, particularly here in the Ionian. The past 2 days, however, have been less than brilliant so I’m hoping by telling you what’s been happening we will bring our short spell of unpleasantness to a halt before my sister, Lizzie, arrives on Wednesday evening.

After a few days of idle existence following Poll’s departure, we thought we’d better return to the anchorage near Gouvia marina to tackle the ubiquitous heap of laundry and visit a friend of ours, Glynis, who works through the summer months at the pool bar at one of the Kontokali hotels. After a couple of days there we set off for Plataria on the mainland opposite Corfu island. We had not been there for a couple of years but knew we could fill water tanks and plug into shore power to give the batteries a boost. On arrival last Wednesday evening, the harbour looked pretty crowded so we anchored off outside and moved into the harbour the next day. As we prepared to reverse back onto the quayside we recognised our new friends from the previous week, Carole and Ian from ‘Maximilian’ who came running to take our shore lines. It was terrific to see them again and shortly after our arrival, other friends of theirs came in and naturally we all got together that evening for a few drinks!

The sea wall to which we were tied has been quietly sinking for some time but the problem seems to have become even worse since we were last there. The tide only lifts the water level by a few inches but it’s enough to flood the quayside:

Please note the wonderfully Greek solution to the problem – simply mounting the electricity and water posts on concrete plinths!

Although we now had access to both the above facilities, we discovered that Internet connection there was very poor, so both mornings, armed with D’s iPad, we stumped off to find a cafe with wifi and check our emails etc over coffee and croissants. Having breakfast out isn’t actually terribly extravagant but somehow always feels very decadent!

We had a pleasant couple of days in Plataria, getting together with Anne and David from ‘Dragonfly’ for a few drinks on board ‘Rampage’, Ian and Carole having pushed off back to Corfu that morning to meet their other son who was flying in the next day.

And so it was that on Saturday, having washed the decks and filled the water tanks, we set off just a few miles down the coast to Mourtos. Now unlike most people who cruise in this area we had never actually stayed in Mourtos before. The one previous occasion when we tried to anchor we found it was impossibly crowded and had found our way round to the little bay just to the south of this collection of islands where we met ‘Maximilian’ for the first time while Susie was with us. Having just spent two nights on a town quay, and having heard that the anchorage was now cleared of flotilla boats and thus less crowded, we decided to give it another go.

We dropped the hook and then hastily erected the wind scoop and shade tents and for an hour or so all was well although even then we’d decided we’d not be returning as the anchorage is a thoroughfare for lots of small speed boats and day boats so we were constantly rolling from their wash which gets very tedious very quickly.

Above is the anchorage shortly before the wind picked up. (I photographed these two girls in their rubber rings swigging from cans of drink as it reminded me of Polly when she was with us, reading her book while lolling in a rubber ring!). Just after this we decided to drop the shade tent to reduce windage and before we knew where we were, there were anchors popping all round us and chaos reigned with boats roaring through the anchorage at full speed to get to the harbour before the full brunt of the storm hit. Although our anchor was fine we decided this was not a good place to stay as the wind was funnelling down through the anchorage between the islands, so we made hasty preparations and left, heading for the other anchorage. As we made our way round the outside of the group of islands by Mourtos it was chilling to hear a frantic Mayday call from one of the other boats there which had wound up on the rocks.

When we arrived at the Sivota bay the wind was blowing straight across it so we found somewhere just to the north of there which was reasonably sheltered and sat out the rest of the storm with a handful of other boats. When the wind dropped however, we decided that we were too close to a large ketch if it should swing towards us in the night. Thus, we did eventually wind up in our preferred bay, with long lines ashore. By then it was about 9:30pm and we were both fairly shattered so rather than the barbecue we’d originally planned, we fell back on the Byrne Emergency Meal of bockwurst and baked beans before collapsing into bed.

Above is the anchorage at Sivota, just south of the Mourtos islands.

Yesterday started well. We both had a lovely swim and then walked over the hill into the town at Mourtos where we had a delicious lunch at a waterfront restaurant. Back at the bay, we were delighted to discover that once again ‘Maximilian’ had come in to anchor. We immediately invited them for drinks aboard ‘Rampage’ that evening. It never happened.

It was now mid-afternoon and the wind was picking up again. Back on board ‘Rampage’ we spotted that the anchor was not holding very well. We have found the Rocna to be excellent but even that does really dig in well where there is a lot of sea grass and weed. Initially we tried putting out the kedge anchor but that did not dig in either so we decided to drop the shorelines with a fender to act as a buoy and a small folding grapnel anchor to hold it in position while we hauled and reset the main anchor. Unfortunately we then dropped it too far out, so had to repeat the exercise and this time, reversing back to the shore lines we managed to get one wrapped round the rudder. Duncan was able to sort this quite quickly but once things start to go wrong they often continue. The next thing we knew was the little anchor had made a bid for freedom and become detached from the buoy. In 6+ metres of water, there was no way D was going to free dive for that at this point so we wrote it off, and may yet try to recover it at some later date.

While all this was going on, ‘Maximilian’ too was having problems and was being blown onto a couple of very smart super-yachts anchored in the bay, only being held off by the crew and dinghies of both motor yachts. By this time we’d decided we’d be better on the far side of the bay but when D set off in the dinghy to recover our shore lines the propellor fell off the outboard to disappear forever in the sea grass below. This was the final straw and realising that we would need to return to Corfu to buy a replacement prop. We decided to head off. ‘Maximilian’ had decided to go down to Parga but Ian kindly came back in their dinghy to help us recover our lines.

Mourtos harbour where all was peace and quiet as we had lunch on the waterfront yesterday.

After all the fun and games we had a great sail but after two and a half hours tacking into the wind we decided to go back to Plataria rather than try to get back to Corfu. This we did, anchoring off once more and this morning we returned to the anchorage under the citadel. The skipper has just retuned having rowed ashore a couple of hours ago to walk across town to buy a new propellor. The outboard shop was closed and now i find that the pork souvlaki that we were going tohave for supper has gone off! Just hope that tomorrow our luck changes and we manage to rid ourselves of this jinx before Lizzie arrives. Below is Corfu anchorage.

Polly has fun in the sun

We left you breathless after Susie’s visit as we sought to sort out Rampage before Polly arrived on 26 August, including doing a mountain of laundry, laying in victuals for a few days and generally having a bit of a dig out on board. We anchored once again under the Old Citadel in Corfu town so as to be close to the airport and had a relaxed evening before suddenly realising that time was slipping by and making a dash ashore: failing to find a taxi immediately on landing resulted in a fine, brisk walk to the main square before we found one. We still made it to the airport in plenty of time and then made our way back on board.

Looking at the Log Book reveals a surprise, as we departed the anchorage the next day at 10.15 – I could have sworn it was much later than that, as the girls had sat up until lord knows when putting the world to rights and catching up on gossip. We went to Syvota again, anchoring in more or less the same spot as we’d been in with Susie, having visited the caves again en route, except that Polly and J swam in rather than taking the dinghy.

We had a BBQ on board that evening – much easier to eat chops at a table – and, once again, the ladies sat up until the small hours. After a trip ashore for essential provisions the day was spent flopping in and out of the water to keep cool, as the temperature was in the low thirties. J and Polly did a lot of snorkelling, which led to what is possibly a unique incident in the annals of the sport. Somehow (no rational explanation has yet been provided), J managed to head butt a sea urchin. She returned to the boat with an impressive collection of spines sticking out of her forehead, which took Polly some time to remove, once we’d both stopped giggling. The mess was improved by my administration of some spray antiseptic, which left a large brown splodge on J’s forehead. Strangely, I can’t find any of the collection of pictures I recall taking….

We left the next day, heading for Gaios. As the picture above shows, we finally got a bit of wind on the trip, using the cruising chute for the first time this year; Polly took the picture from the dinghy on the end of a long line from the stern. In Gaios we once again moored in the northern part of the harbour and sorted a key card out for the water and electricity post, so we had a full charge on the batteries for once.

The next day (Tuesday 30 Jul), we hired scooters to explore the island. The kitten above was found on our first stop at Logos; it is part of a delightful population of cats in the village, all of which seem to be very photogenic and appreciated by both the local residents and visitors. We carried on from there to Lakka on the north of the island where we had lunch before heading to the south of the island for cold drinks and ice creams. Unfortunately, riding a scooter seems to disagree with my lower back, so I retired hurt whilst Polly took J off to the beach for a swim. This nearly resulted in disaster, as Polly had never had pillion passenger before……. They managed not to get themselves trapped under a dropped scooter and not to hit anything in the chaos that is Gaios.

The next day my back was still causing trouble, so Polly and J took the dinghy and went off swimming whilst I took things easy. The rest of the day passed in similar fashion before we went out to supper at the same little place we went to with Susie, a real break from the taverna mould.

This left us with one more night before Polly’s flight back to UK, so we decided to sail up to Petriti on Corfu, about 2 hours sailing away from the town. Again, we struck lucky with the wind and managed to sail for a good deal of the way.

OK, I know there’s no sails in the photo, but the picture above shows Polly at the helm under sail. Petriti is a small village about half way up the east coast of Corfu. It has a small harbour and a good muddy bottom for anchoring. We got there late afternoon and spent the evening barbecuing an enormous bag of prawns. The following morning, J and Polly took the dinghy ashore to dump rubbish and get water and food. When they reappeared, they brought with the an entire rack of lamb chops for supper.

The trip up to Corfu town was short and uneventful. Polly and J followed their established pattern by getting into the water as soon as we arrived. This time, Polly hit on the ultimate answer to how to stay cool and read your book….

Polly’s flight was late – after eleven pm – so we had supper first, albeit earlier than normal. We each had large quantities of lamb chops with potato salad. We couldn’t quite manage the whole lot of them – one got saved for lunch the following day….. We put Polly into a taxi to the airport at about ten pm, glad to know that Tommy had arranged to meet her at Bristol and spend the night in a local hotel rather than driving all the way to Falmouth that night. We meandered back to Rampage feeling a little flat after her visit.

The next day, I explored the area away from the town centre and finally found some “real” shops where we could get victuals, thus making the anchorage really viable. We think we will stay here as a default setting when in Corfu. That evening, we tried out J’s birthday present, a small handheld GPS that I’d got Polly to bring out from UK. It’s less obvious than the iPad for finding geocaches. We found one cache in the warren of back streets in the old tow of Corfu but failed to find two others: if we’d had the iPad with us, the details give would have helped us out!

The view from the Old Citadel, looking north, quite made up for failing to find the cache! We returned the following evening and found both caches we failed to locate the day before.

Yesterday, we moved round to the Gouvia anchorage to tackle the laundry pile before it overwhelms us. We met up with Glynis, our old friend fro Gouvia days, at Spiti Prifiti and she has said that she’ll do the laundry, so we’re going ashore soon to have lunch in the bar where she works and drop off the heap. And that’s it. All up to date. Our next visitor is J’s sister Lizzie, who arrives on 14 August for a week before Andy arrives on 23!

Lizzie will be bringing a new box of electronic whizz bangery to make the battery charging more efficient, as the batteries have been struggling to keep pace with the demands placed on them by the fridge in the hot weather. Watch this space for the fun and games involved in fitting them!